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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the government of Israel on the international delegation of Bishops which was recently refused access to the Cremisan Valley by Israeli security forces during a visit to the construction site of the Separation Barrier.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have raised the issue of the separation barrier through the Cremisan Valley with the Israeli authorities repeatedly, most recently on 1 September 2015.

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26471, whether the UK cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme plans to assess the potential link between oil and gas activities and related seismic testing and the movement of sperm whales to North Sea waters.

    George Eustice

    The UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme is currently working with experts from Germany and The Netherlands to carry out an assessment of all the potential factors, natural and/or human-induced, that may have contributed to the recent sperm whale strandings.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it remains his policy that Learn Direct will take over the driving theory test contract from September 2016; what arrangements have been made between Learn Direct and the current contract holder to ensure a smooth handover; and what the total cost to the public purse was of the procurement process and associated fees.

    Andrew Jones

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and learndirect have concluded an exit from the contract for the provision of the UK Driving Theory Test, which was due to transfer to learndirect in September 2016. Pearson Professional Assessments Ltd (formally Pearson Driving Assessments Ltd) will therefore continue to provide the service for some time.

    The cost of running the procurement process was reported to have been £510,380. This covers pay costs of £350,865 and £159,515 non-pay costs, which consists primarily of professional fees.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of employment and support allowance (ESA) applicants from Brighton and Hove are being sent to (a) Lewes and (b) Vauxhall for assessment; for what reasons such ESA applicants are being sent to those locations; what impact assessment has been made of sending ESA applicants to centres out of their home city; when and how applicants are remunerated for transport costs; and if he will make a statement.

    Priti Patel

    All Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) customers within the Brighton and Hove postcode areas are being asked to attend for an assessment at Lewes Assessment Centre as Lewes is the nearest Assessment Centre to Brighton and Hove.

    DWP policy ensures that claimants do not have to travel for more than 90 minutes by public transport (single journey) for a consultation. However, this limit is an absolute maximum and for the majority of claimants their journey will be less than this. For example, it would take applicants from Brighton and Hove approximately 20-30 minutes by bus to reach Lewes Assessment centre.

    All claimants who are asked to travel to an assessment are reimbursed either by cheque or directly into a bank account via BACS.

    If an ESA customer is unable to attend an appointment, they are asked to contact the provider to discuss their individual circumstances. A home visit can be arranged if there is supportive medical evidence about the claimant’s inability to travel due to their medical condition.

    ESA claimants are not asked to travel to the Assessment Centre at Vauxhall which is specifically for claimants of Personal Independence Payment and not ESA.

  • Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will bring forward proposals to enable people who have previously undertaken university education to be eligible for funded apprenticeships.

    Nick Boles

    Currently the apprenticeship funding rules allow a university graduate to take an apprenticeship standard at a higher level than their current qualification. Further detail on the proposed funding rules that will apply from 2017-18 will be published shortly.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2016 to Question 43629, what plans he has to review the aspects of the BIS 2020 programme that do not relate to staff posts and office locations in the light of the restructuring of government departments.

    Joseph Johnson

    As part of the recent Machinery of Government changes, over the coming months we will be considering how to bring together the reform agendas of BEIS’s two predecessor Departments.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether (1) medical personnel, (2) ambulance crews, and (3) journalists, have been unlawfully attacked in the last year in Israel and Palestine, and how many of each group have been injured in that period.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While we have not made an assessment specifically on this matter, we are clear that both medical staff and journalists should have the protection that allows them to do their jobs in safety. Freedom of the media is an important human rights principle. We are aware of several concerning incidents involving journalists and ambulance crews in the West Bank and Gaza over the past year. We regularly raise our concerns with both the Palestinian Authority and Israeli government, and have urged all sides to de-escalate the current tensions.

  • Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contribution the Local Pinch Point Fund has made towards increasing the housing supply.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department is providing £263 million through the Local Pinch Point Fund, targeted at traffic congestion hot-spots, which when combined with local authority and developer contributions is funding schemes costing around £500 million.

    Based on estimates from the promoting authorities, many of the schemes awarded funding encourage housing and commercial development around them, with the potential to support around 150,000 new homes and 200,000 jobs.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the size is of the area of land available for the direct commissioning site for housing at Old Oak Common.

    Brandon Lewis

    The planning process is ongoing for these sites. This will be completed in due course working closely with the local communities and local authorities.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the training provision and capacity that will be required to ensure that child and adolescent mental health services have the appropriate number of staff to meet future demand for such services.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government has mandated Health Education England (HEE) to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development.

    HEE sets out its commissioning intentions based upon the needs of local employers, providers, commissioners and other stakeholders who come together as members of HEE’s Local Teams.

    HEE’s national workforce plan for England is an aggregate of local teams’ plans, but the advice and input of clinical advisors and patient representatives, as well as the Royal Colleges and other stakeholders, is also listened to and considered. It is this discussion and involvement locally and nationally that makes this a plan for the whole of the National Health Service in England.

    Additionally, HEE’s mandate makes a commitment to work to achieve the vision expressed by Future in Mind including ensuring the priorities for workforce development in mental health are addressed in the life course approach to workforce planning.